Case Number 15450

The Children Of Huang Shi

Every purchase you make through these Amazon links supports DVD Verdict's reviewing efforts. Thank you!

All Rise...

Sadly, Judge Clark Douglas has never saved any Chinese orphans.

The Charge

Based on the remarkable true story.

Opening Statement

"We need to help these children."

Facts of the Case

The year is 1937, and the world is a rather turbulent place. China and Japan
are in the middle of a complicated and violent conflict, and numerous
journalists from all over the world are attempting to make their way into
particularly troubled areas of China in order to cover the undeclared war. One
of these journalists is George Hogg (Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Match Point), the son of high-profile British
pacifists. George has similarly passionate feelings about the war, but is shaken
when he witnesses a brutal public execution. Due to a brief moment of poor
decision-making, George is nearly taken out in the exact same manner, but is
rescued at the last minute by Chen (Chow Yun-fat, Anna and the King), a skillfully trained
Chinese Nationalist.

Chen finds a somewhat safe place for George to stay, and introduces him to
Lee Pearson (Radha Mitchell, Melinda
and Melinda), a British doctor. Lee spends a large portion of her time
assisting the 60 residents of a boy's orphanage, and George is quickly
encouraged to help out. Initially, George is hesitant about taking a break from
war coverage to help out some kids, but he quickly has a change of heart. Before
long, George begins to develop a deep compassion for these children, and
increasingly dangerous circumstances force him to make a big decision. In order
to get the orphans to safety, George determines that he will need to lead them
on a 500-mile journey across snow-covered mountains. How many will survive such
an arduous trip?

The Evidence

I'm rather sad when I have to write a review like this. No, not because
The Children of Huang Shi left me depressed and deflated. Nay, The
Children of Huang Shi mostly gives off the vibe of being an inspirational
film. Like George Hogg, the film has a very good heart and nothing but the best
of intentions. Unfortunately, the film frequently allows it's good intentions to
translate into conventional banality. The story is told in a rather simplistic
manner, and though it's a particularly fascinating true story, it somehow feels
like something we've seen before.

The film runs just over two hours, which is completely unnecessary. This is
one of the most thoroughly-padded historical epics I've seen, featuring
much-longer-than-usual shots of people walking from place to place while David
Hirschfelder's lovely music swoons. The Children of Huang Shi could have
easily been cut down to 90 minutes, which undoubtedly would have made it much
more effective. With the pacing that is currently in place, the viewer quickly
leaps ahead of the film in their mind. We've all ready jumped ahead to the next
step, and we sit there waiting for the film to catch up. The film fails to bring
any real surprises to the table, making the jumping-ahead process quite
easy.

On a financial level, the film was something of a massive failure. The film
cost $40 million to make, and only managed to scrounge up a measly $1 million at
the box office. It's easy to see why this happened. First of all, the rating is
absolutely wrong. The film's tone is genial and family-friendly, pitched at
about the level of a Hallmark movie. The simplicity of the screenplay suggests
that the film might be best-suited to older children, but the R rating prevents
that. Very brief scenes of just-barely-too-graphic violence take what would have
undoubtedly been a PG-rated film into R-rated territory. Thirty seconds of
editing would have broadened the potential audience considerably. Additionally,
the title should have been changed. Honestly, The Children of Huang Shi
doesn't exactly sound very interesting, does it? Why not call it 500 Miles to
Freedom or some such thing?

Jonathan Rhys Meyers has demonstrated on numerous occasions that he can be a
very interesting actor, but here can't seem to find anything interesting to do
with George Hogg. During the scenes in which Hogg is shocked by the tragedy he
sees around him, Meyers' open-mouthed reactions seem almost unintentionally
funny. We keep expecting the character to become more interesting as the layers
are peeled back, but the film is far too concerned with immortalizing this
English Savior of China. Without a strong central character to carry the film
through mundane moments, The Children of Huang Shi has a difficult time
sustaining interest on a regular basis.

The transfer is okay, but rather underwhelming considering the visual sweep
of the thing. The level of detail here was somewhat disappointing, and blacks
aren't quite as deep as I'd like them to be. This a film that should look
splendid, but instead it seems a bit lackluster. On the other hand, the audio is
mostly quite solid. David Hirschfelder's score sounds just gorgeous here, and is
well-distributed throughout the film. My only concern is that a few early scenes
permit sound design to overwhelm the dialogue. The only supplement included on
the DVD is a typical making-of featurette that covers the usual bases.

The Rebuttal Witnesses

The film may not be engaging or informative enough to be worth recommending,
but some fine supporting performances make the movie easy enough to sit through.
The best comes from Radha Mitchell as the doctor, who proves to be the only
character in the film who has more complexity than we expect. It's a shame that
such a good turn is buried in a movie that no one will see. I was also caught
off guard by just how charming Chow Yun-fat was here, creating easily the most
likable character in the film. The always-reliable Michelle Yeoh (The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor) also has a
brief but memorable turn as a high-society woman who decides to help Hogg and
the children.

Closing Statement

I'd like to recommend The Children of Huang Shi, but it just doesn't
feel like a particularly worthwhile way to spend two hours. At best, this one
only merits a rental.

The Verdict

Guilty of turning a fascinating story into a rather mundane film. Court is
adjourned.